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| Some kids Hawking FELELE(Soccer balls) on the street of Benin City Nigeria |
FELELE
The honey that dripped over our lively childhood days! 'FELELE' as we called it then and perhaps what it's still being referred to as these days was a saviour for many back in the days. Soccer loving kids or football as it's been called in this part of the world made playing the beautiful game a possibility for less privileged kids who ordinarily would have been unable to afford the more expensive ball which was reffered to as 'KAKA' especially in the western parts of the country.
Growing up in Ogun and later in Lagos was one helluva roller Coster, and 'Felele' was a key player in making sure this was so. As kids with no noose of responsibilities hanging on our necks, we kicked during break time, the short and the long breaks too. We played like our lives depended on it!
Such was the height of our excitement.
With it we played the O.G.O, or OJO as it was being pronounced, god knows what that meant!. As little kids, we really didn't care we just wanted to play ball, we wanted to play FELELE. As soon as the ball gets thrown up we all screamed O.G.O Ojoooo and whoala! The game is on! And impressionable little boys kicked on enjoying a delicious match of FELELE.
What would our childhood have been without it? Probably drab, I mean it's unimaginable that a sub Saharan soccer loving nation like Nigeria will have its underprivileged kids denied the trill of being able to play with a decent soccer ball, of being able to kick around a colourful FELELE, colourful? Yes! Unlike the traditional more expensive ones, which usually comes in black and white and perhaps one or two other colours, Feleles comes in a variety of colours, in varieties of rainbow colours!
Can you really say you don't have a FELELE story? Hell we've all got one. Even the super stars, the ones who made it to the top of professional soccer has got one too,they've got fond memories laced with tales of that most loving round leather object.
Well, you've got a FELELE story, right? Affirmative? Do tell me about it.
